HD Hyundai aims to double its warship revenue by 2030

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has unveiled Jeongjo The Great, the Navy's first 82,000-ton Aegis destroyer. The firm aims to double its naval and special-purpose vessel revenue by 2030.

Jeongjo The Great, below, and the ROKS Chungnam frigate warship docked at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) shipyard in Ulsan [HD HHI]

ULSAN — Korea strives to become one of the world’s biggest defense suppliers, and major update to its arsenal is under way. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) has unveiled Jeongjo The Great, the Navy's first 8,200-ton Aegis destroyer.

Named after King Jeongjo the Great (1752-1800), a revered reformist ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, the destroyer stood proudly on Monday with a backdrop of clear blue sky at the HD HHI shipyard in Ulsan.

Floating alongside with the destroyer was a 3,600-ton frigate, the ROKS Chungnam, which is named after Korea's central province.

Both the destroyer and the frigate are going under performance evaluations and will be delivered to the Navy by late 2024.

HD HHI, which has been the world’s leading shipbuilder in the merchant marine sector, aims to double its naval and special-purpose vessel revenue to reach 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) by 2030.

The company is eyeing overseas markets to drive that profit.

“HD HHI built about 100 warships so far for both Korea and other countries and exported 14 vessels overseas, expanding our warship export market outside Asia and into the Middle East and South America,” Joo Won-ho, chief operating officer of HD HHI’s Naval & Special Ship Business Unit, told press in Ulsan on Monday.

The plan is to “develop core technologies reflecting the future battlefield environment and build a stable business foundation by continuing to expand defense exports with future-proof, exportable warships,” according to Joo.

Joo Won-ho, chief operating officer of HD HHI’s Naval & Special Ship Business Unit, speaks during a press event held Monday in Ulsan. [HD HHI]

HD HHI’s Jeongjo the Great is a testament to that promise.

The 170-meter (558-foot)-long, 21-meter-wide destroyer “is a guide ship for Korea’s marine-based three-axis system,” said Choi Tae-bok, director of strategic communication for the company's Naval & Special Ship Business.

The three-axis system is a developing strategy of counterattack and strike capabilities that encompasses the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system; the Korean Air and Missile Defense system, which would destroy incoming missiles; and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan, which would target North Korea’s leadership and military command.

Jeongjo the Great is a KDX-III Batch-II destroyer and Korea’s fourth warship equipped with the latest Aegis combat system, which can track and intercept ballistic missiles.

Korea is one of three countries capable of building Aegis destroyers, along with the United States and Japan.

The onboard view of HD HHI's Jeongjo The Great destroyer [HD HHI]

The warship is larger than the 7,600-ton Sejong The Great Aegis destroyer, but it requires only about 200 crew members to operate, compared to Sejong the Great’s 300, thanks to automation.

Another major update comes with its antimissile system.

“Jeongjo The Great destroyer’s biggest and the most important difference from the previous Sejong The Great vessel is that now it is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles,” said Choi.

Jeongjo The Great is fitted with ship-to-ground guided ballistic missiles and long-range ship-to-air guided missiles. This could include both Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) systems with a range of up to 460 (0.6 miles). Sejong The Great could only operate SM-3s.

According to Choi, “Sejong The Great warship can detect a ballistic missile from up to 1,000 kilometers away, manage 1,000 different targets at the same time, and engage with 20 most threatening targets simultaneously.

“And Jeongjo the Great is capable of much more than that.”

The cutting-edge destroyer is known for its advanced sonar — sound navigation and ranging — system as well, which has an improved ability to target underwater threats such as enemy submarines and torpedoes.

The warship is powered by a hybrid engine system comprised of four gas turbines and two hybrid electric drives, which also contributes to its enhanced stealth performance features.

The Philippines is one of HD HHI’s major customers, as the Southeast Asian country made an order for 10 vessels in total, including two frigates.

HD HHI began to build the two 3,200-ton frigates, measuring 118.4 meters in length and 14.9 meters in width, on Wednesday. The firm hosted a ceremony to commemorate the launch in Ulsan that day with military officials from Korea and the Philippines in attendance.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]